Esther Sandoval (28 December 1925 – 6 February 2006) was a Puerto Rican actress and a pioneer in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

's television.

Early years

Sandoval was born Esther María González in Ponce where she received her primary and secondary education. After graduating from Salinas High School, she attended Colegio Percy de Ponce (Percy College of Ponce) and earned a degree in secretarial sciences.El Vocero, Feb 8, 2006 pg.45 article:"Impacta a clase artistica deceso Esther Sandova" by Jorge Rodriguez

Radio actress

Sandoval went to work for ''El Día'', a local newspaper in Ponce. She first came into contact with the field of communications when she went to work as a secretary for Emilio Huyke in the radio station WPAB. She auditioned and was named director of a program directed towards a female audience. In 1949, she informed her parents that she wanted to become an entertainer and she left for

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, despite their protests, and went to work for Ángel Ramos' "Radio El Mundo", which later became known as WKAQ. She was given the surname "Sandoval" by the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

actress Queca Guerrero. Sandoval landed roles in radionovelas (radio soap operas) and became known in Puerto Rico as "The Queen of the Radio Operas". El Vocero - Adios a Esther Sandoval
/ref>

Television debut

In 1954, Sandoval became a pioneer in the island's television when she participated, alongside

Mario Pabón Mario Pabón, in full Mario Enrique Pabón Cantin (13 August 1930 – 27 November 1996) was a Dominican-Puerto Rican actor, director and show host. He was known for his work on Puerto Rican television and cinema. Early life Pabón was born in Q ...

and Lucy Boscana, in Puerto Rico's first televised

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

''Ante La Ley'' which was transmitted through

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

. The soap opera caused a national scandal in Puerto Rico because in one scene she kissed her co-star Pabon in the mouth, an act that was totally unheard of in those days.

Theater in New York City

Sandoval traveled to New York City, where she joined

Míriam Colón Míriam Colón Valle (August 20, 1936 – March 3, 2017) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actress. She was the founder and director of New York City's Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Beginning her career in the early 1950s, she performed on Bro ...

's theatrical group "El Circulo Dramatico" (The Drama Circuit). Later she founded her own theatrical group and named it "Experimental Hall of Theater". They were located at the Lucerne Hotel of New York. There she produced and starred in ''Té y Simpatía'' (''Tea and Sympathy'') and ''Dondé esta la Luz?'' (''Where is the Light?''). Before returning to Puerto Rico, Sandoval made several presentations in the

Teatro Puerto Rico The Teatro Puerto Rico was a music hall focused on the Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino community in the Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx in New York City. During the 1940s to 1950s it presented ''la farándula, ...

Return to Puerto Rico

In 1959, Sandoval returned to the island and married Ivan Goderich, a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n soap opera musical director. They had two daughters, Yara Goderich and Ivonne Goderich. Ivonne would follow her mother's footsteps and become an actress herself. Sandoval continued working in soap operas, such as ''Bodas de Sangre'' (''Blood Wedding''), ''La Novia'' (''The Bride''), ''La Rosa Taluada'', ''Un Tren Travia llamada Deseo'', ''Santa Juana de America'' and ''Los Soles Truncos'', where she acted alongside her daughter Ivonne and her son-in-law Xavier Cifre. She also lent her voice in the Spanish translation of movies. She was the voiceover of

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career, she was known for her strong, realistic screen p ...

and

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, model, comedian, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in ...

. In 1978, her supporting role in the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' Cristina Bazán'' was thoroughly acknowledged, alongside José Luis Rodríguez and Johanna Rosaly. In 1979, she participated alongside

Norma Candal Norma Daniela Candal Penedo (April 10, 1927 – February 5, 2006), was a Puerto Rican actress and comedian who was best known for her role as Petunia on ''La criada malcriada''. Early years Norma Daniela Candal Penedo was born in 1927 in Fajard ...

Alicia Moreda Alicia Moreda Tuya (November 1, 1912 – June 13, 1983), was a soap opera actress, comedian, and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's television industry. Early years Moreda was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, one of three children born to Alberto Moreda ...

Gladys Rodríguez Gladys Rodríguez (born June 4, 1943) is a Puerto Rican actress, comedian, and television host. She is also a Christian pastor and a priest at an Episcopalian church in Oviedo, Florida, near Orlando, United States. Early years Rodríguez was bor ...

and Otilio Warrington in

Jacobo Morales Jacobo Morales (born 12 November 1934) is a Puerto Rican actor, poet, writer, playwright, filmmaker, and author born in Puerto Rico.

Awards and recognitions

According to ''

El Vocero ''El Vocero de Puerto Rico'' is a Puerto Rican free newspaper that is published in San Juan. Published since 1974, ''El Vocero'' was at first the third of the four largest Puerto Rico newspapers, trailing '' El Mundo'' and '' El Nuevo Día'' and ...

'' (See reference) Sandoval received many awards and recognitions, including: * Best Actress and Best Actress of the Year (1955) * Golden Coqui for Best Actress (1966) * Golden Aqueybana (1968 and 1974) * Selected amongst the most distinguished Puerto Rican women during the celebration of the International Year of the Women * The Golden Coral Award from the Festival of the New Latin Movie in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Creature from the Haunted Sea'' (1961) * ''Thunder Island'' (1963) - Rena * ''Traitors of San Angel'' (1967) - Doña Consuelo * '' Las Pasiones Infernales'' (1969) * ''"Cristina Bazán'' (1978) TV series - Rosaura Alsina * '' Dios los Cría'' (1979) - Old Prostitute * ''La Otra Mujer'' (1980) TV series

Later years

In the late 1990s, Sandoval suffered from the complications of various health problems such as

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, chronic

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...

, which left part of her body paralysed. She had been hospitalized at the Antiilas Hospital of Rio Piedras for several years, before dying on February 6, 2006. Her body was cremated on February 10, in accord with her wishes.

References

External links

*
El Vocero - Adios a Esther Sandoval
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandoval, Esther 1925 births 2006 deaths Actresses from Ponce, Puerto Rico Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States Deaths from diabetes in the United States Neurological disease deaths in Puerto Rico Puerto Rican film actresses Puerto Rican stage actresses Puerto Rican telenovela actresses 20th-century American actresses 20th-century Puerto Rican actresses